Apparatus for forming groups of die castings



July 27, 1948. L. H. MORIN 2,446,056

APPARATUS FOR FORMING GROUPS OF DIE CASTINGS Filed March 29, 1944 INVENTOR LOU/'5) H Mom/v Patented July 27, 1948 APPARATUS FOR romvuNeiaimen s l .Application- Marchg ZSl, 1944, seriaiinoaszsgs'sw t l 11' "Claims.

JIhis iinventiorr; relates toseparable fasteners employing stringers havingr linksx oops spaced longitudinallyotone edge of the stringers. =More particularly, the invention relates to anapparatusa'forzformingascast unit ,comprisingracseries :or multiplicity otvscoops on" the stringer tape togethercwithtanjintegral; gate 1 rod, andin utilizing the zwgateprrod; :as; a-xmeans l for supportingithe cast unitwand 'imovinggthe :cast :unit relativelyrtosthe dies-1 employed; The novel featuresot the inven-:-

tionslwill :be :best. understood; from the following description when-taken together :with the accomipartying:drawing, in which pertain "embodiments of the invention are disclosed, and in whichithe separate; parts I are designated. by suitable refereneeqcharacters ;in each 'of 1 the views,*; and;-, in

which: i t

Fig; 1': ishalsectional view diagrammatically illustrating other apparatus employefdwin :forming sucoessiv vcast units comprising groupsroflscootis omastringerttape;

i Figzs2zisi-a view'ilooking'inthe directionpflthe arrow}, Eigal,illustrating the dies inopemposi tion;: and-1 withnpart of i the gconstructlon ill-i580,-

tion. l l

Fig. 4 is a view similarto FigMB ShoWingethe diestinaopen-position, as in Fig; 2. i

Fig. 1.

Fig; 16: is -a- -pers-pective view diagrammatically lllustrating the forming operation; and t Fig. 7-.is a-detail view of a few icoupled links oiltwo stringers;

In the construction: of stringers-of gseparable fasteners it has been customary, in forminggdie l cast scoops .;on the stringers, to cast theiscoops V onetat a...time=in forming the undercut socket or femaleeoupling portions thereof. It has alsoibeen customary ,in more recent developments, of this art, to/cast a plurality of scoopsc simultaneously upon ,aicoreielement employed for forming the, undercut socket or female portion of the scoop In the last method of procedure, some ,diflicultyi would *be experienced 'in'removing ,the'core element particularly when a largenumber of caste ings are simultaneously formed on the element. It'jis the purpose of my present invention to.

simultaneously cast a pluralitypr relatively large :Fig; is a partial section onl-ithelline .s -ei-oe number igoi gscoopstonitheistringer tape rwifihout..'i

formingithe.un'dercut socketronfemale connliii portions in ithe 'smoPsMjandZthen .to ishapelg the scoops ta iormithese .underout socketmorif einaleo coupling portions. producing;relativly;,short i strin enlen ths, .thewentine stringemlengthi mav be ,castmin-a singlet-operation tfioweverg asmmo'st-t fasteners are relatively long; .,in such instancesm it will .glae .Jdesirableito form east uiiits; eachcome prisin roups';of;scoqps,tanduautomatically space ing ithe grozins .=one...withire$il,ect to'.the otheif'fito D OV einroperl. sp ngeofiall the scoops onHt'hew; stringer. led e, ."In flthis!minceduse;v .I', pizefieralily form in each groupoficastmzslla gbarlike eate.

mention ,used as laimeans'tiorispacin gindlvidnal 1 mo ns-pandas atmeansnottieedingeandispacingr; successive tgrpupsiof scoop castings rro .gillustratetone adaptation of mm nventions,

I thaveidiagrarnmatioallyl illustrated imthe firawe iin i twoirlatiyelyflmovable; dies (handrail on-t the. adjacent impression-shrines ofrwhichiareiformecti vertically, s at-Leo l-scoopn cavities t ll 2 intor which! i open,,gate,,.passages b3 'communicating with raj: large cylindrical gate passagewlmwith whichoan zadmissionzgateipassagei. l5 communieates the lat-- ter.gopening thnoughtthe,outer surface ofiLtheidies i to\ register .withaa: ,ilischarge l lnozzlel l l6. 7 i'Also formeduinitheiimpression snrtacestofttheiotes tare-r recesses l'! for receiving amounting member tor @tape 1.8,: that beaded .,edge lialtofmwhich, extends throus'h,.;allof1the iieavities. tcavities H2 eachtdefinettheicontour of thegresuitingslinksi ori scoopslzlla i a. i a l :At this. time; it, .is 4130 be i pointed flint; thattxhe A tiparticular; contour-pr struetnreof theiscoopsimay be varied "ito; suit anypspecific trequirementsaiande the struotureiofithe scoop disclosed:slmplygilluse: trates. oneiadaptationiotmy intentions ,EachgsQoop has uponopposedisurfacesl proi- 40:.ijectingi rihs.sorielements jl, whichtane -zadapteds,

' siaeratmnjbizmg s and eofvthlemdrawing .Thesea the slots; or .frecessesiizz to ,ente'plrecesses-izz in sco'opswof la r-companions stringern .as cle arly.tillustratedtin Elie- 7 org-the drawings ;However,.,vingcasting; the scoops ilhthe recesses m liemaler'pflrtions 112 are .notiformedgine the toasting .as .will readily (appeartiiromwaicone castings, areAfterwards,gshape'd;.orl rqrmeawma example.,--Jfby Ja,.milling;'eutter t diagrammatically illustrateflQatIZ SiinEiE iofmthe drawin iitoamillly iin an 1ofthekscoons each stringer length. Where a series of stringer lengths are formed on a long tape the operation will be a continuous one. It will be understood that the gate portions comprising the rod 24, including the pin portions 25 leading to each casting and the outwardly projecting gate part 26 which also forms the stop controlling spacing, can be trimmed from the castings in a trimming operation prior to the milling operation, and in some instances, the milling cutter 23 may be used to remove all of the gate portions in the milling operation, v

It will be apparent that the castings, or each unit comprising the group of castings may be formed by pressure injection of any suitable ma-,

terial into the dies from a suitable nozzle, as at l6. nozzles are used in different types of castings.

Difierent types of injection cylinders and In other words, metal castings or plastic castings may be formed in this manner.

Arranged in recessed portions '26 of the dies It! and II, are stationary supports 21 for guide pins 28, note Figs. 3 and 4. These pins open through adjacent surfaces of thedies into the passage I4, so that when thedies are opened, as seen in Figs. 2fand 4, the rodportion24 of the gate remains supported in a centralizedposition between the dies beforemoving the same out of alinement with the dies preparator for the next casting operation,

Arranged above the dies and in alinement with the parting line of the dies directly above the rod 24 is a transfer plunger 29', the piston end 30 of "which is operable in an air cylinder 3| into which air under pressure is injected through pipes or tubes 32'and 33. The cylinder 3| also includes a tape guide portioni34wh'ich supports ar d guides the tape in its movement along the parting' lineof diesllland'll." f

The upper portion 'ofthe recess M; is made conical in form to, produce on the upper end of the rod a conical end 35. This conical end is adapted to seat in a conical recess 36, provided in the lowerouter "end oithe plunger 29. It will thus be seen thatwhenjthe'diesQlfl and II are moved into open'position, as seen in Fig. 2, the plunger 29 is moved downwardlyto engage the upperend of the rod 24', and as the plunger continues downwardly, the rod 24 is stripped from the guides 28, and the casting is moved into a position below the lowersurface 'of the die, the limit of this movement being checked by a stop 31 engaging the portion26 of the gate.

In the above operatiomair would be admitted to thecylinder'through the tube 32. Upon completion of this operation, air is then admitted through the tube 33, and the plunger 29 is moved to raised position, the dies are again closed, and the next casting formed'; It willbe noted, that the dies closeupon the uppernconical end of the rod 24, thus the second rod 24 is formed around the first rod which maintains a constant spacing of each group of castings. In shifting the second group of castings, to the cleared position fromthe dies, the stop '31 is, of course, retracted to release the first group of castings and then returned to stop: position in order to engage thegate'port'ion 26 of the next successive group of castings. The above operations are continued until the desired length of stringer has been termed, after which a feed of the tapewill be made to provide. a wide spacing on the tape between the stringer lengths, and then the cycle of operation is repeated.

In feeding each unit or group of castings downwardly, the rod portion 24 isfed through guide and hold-back members 38, resiliently supported on stationary members 39. The members 38 will serve to retain the lowered unit or group of castings in position preparatory to feeding the next group of castings downwardly to the stop position, at which time, the second group of castings will be firmly and yieldably supported in the members 38. The pins 28 in addition to maintaining the centralized position of the cast unit also operate as strippers to strip the castings from the impression surfaces of the die. The number of pins 28 employed may be varied in proportion to the number of links or scoops which are simultaneously formed between the idies.

I i It will, of course, be apparent that in the machine employed for automatically caring for the successive groups of castings, means will be providcd for timing and synchronizing the operation of the dies; the plunger 29 and stop 31, as

well. as the pressure injection of the casting ma- 1 terial into the die cavities when the dies are in closed position. The dies-will be water cooled by suitable passages, such as diagrammatically illustrated at 40. The arrangement of these passages will be made to suit the characters of the employed.

In an apparatus as herein described, it mayb said that the plurality or group of castings formed in each unit or in each casting operation are complete products, and that these products are then shaped or formed to complete the contour of the desired'resulting product, forexample, by milling the grooves in the outer coupling portions of the scoops. The completion of each scoop also includes the removal of the gate portions.

The formation of the gate rods or similar means as part of a cast unit of the class described, provides on the unit, means which supports several castings of the unit as well as means adapted to be engagedby the ejector and supporting pins 28. The gate rod also provides on the cast unit the means adapted to be engaged by the transfer plunger 29 to strip the unit from the pins 28 andthen feed the unit into its position out of the path of adjacent impression surfaces of the dies, with the exception of one end of the rod, which remains between the dies to engage one end of the gate rod of the next successive unit formed between said dies.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A die casting machine comprising a pair of dies having a plurality of independent cavities spaced along the parting line of the dies in a straight row, adjacent surfaces of the dies having an elongated impression spaced from said cavities and arranged substantially parallel to said row of cavities for forming a gate rod, the dies having an admission gate passage communlcating with said impression, passages exgate rod from the dies coincidently with the.

operation of separating the dies and for supporting the complete casting in predetermined position between the open dies, and reciprocating.

means for engaging the end of said gate rod to dies 1 aei'egesa -i s ih spacedpalongthe'parting 'line"ofithe di centj'puriape'se of" the-dies havingf an elo gated impression" spaced from said cavities for" form ing a gate rod, the idiesehavingi'arradmission gate passage communicating with ,said impression,

of the die cavati'es "whereby in the pressureinjection of casting material into the dies a plurality of castings are formed in the die cavities all united by the gate rod, means for ejecting the casting and gate rod from the dies in the operation of separating the dies and for supporting the complete casting in predetermined position between the open dies, means engaging the gate rod for stripping the unit casting from the last named means and for feeding the same beyond adjacent surfaces of said dies, and a pair of yieldable grippers adjacent but spaced from said dies for receiving and supporting the cast unit moved out of the path of movement of said dies.

3. A die casting machine comprising a pair of dies having a plurality of independent cavities spaced along the parting line of the dies, adjacent surfaces of the dies having an elongated impression spaced from said cavities for forming a gate rod, the dies having an admission gate passage communicating with said impression, passages extending from the impression to each of the die cavities whereby in the pressure injection of casting material into the dies a plurality of castings are formed in the die cavities all united by the gate rod, means for ejecting the casting and gate rod from the dies in the operation of separating the dies and for supporting the complete casting in predetermined position between the open dies, means engaging the gate rod for stripping the unit casting fromthe last named means and for feeding the same beyond adjacent surfaces of said dies, a pair of yield- -able grippers adjacent but spaced from said dies for receiving and supporting the cast unit moved out of the path of movement of said dies, and said last named. means in combination with a'pre-cast unit forming a backing and support for the next successive cast unit in the operation of feeding the same into said last named means.

4. In a die casting machine, means comprising a pair of relatively movable dies for forming a die cast unit including a rod like gate portion, means for supporting the rod like gate portion of a previously formed unit in a position to engage one end of the first mentioned gate rod, thereby to space said units relatively to each other, stationary means for ejecting the first mentioned unit from the dies in the separation thereof and for positioning said unit between the separated dies, and means movable toward and from the other end of said first mentioned gate rod for stripping the unit from said stationary means and for feeding the unit out of the path of movement of said dies.

5. In a die casting machine, means comprising a pair of relatively movable dies for forming a die cast unit including a rod like gate portion, stationary means for ejecting the unit from the dies in the separation thereof and for positioning the unit between the separated dies, means movable toward and from one end of said avirrg plurality of independem "cavities gate red ior gstripping: the unitifrormisaid'secondzc. named means and for feedin henunitiouti: ofs; the path of movement of saiddiesiandimeansoforry cheekinggth'e l-astenamed movementiofithe aunitii to pos-ition ene oast? unit idefi'nite'ly iwithflrespect'r to the -next successivez castninit formed between said dies. h i i i 6. Iz1 "a--die casting machine, means comprising a pair of relativ ly movable ,diesfor forming a die cast unit including-"a rod like gate portion, passagesiextending from'thetimpression todeach stationary 7 meansfor ejectinglithe :unit from ,the dies in the separation thereof and--,for'-pos;iti on-ing the unit between the separated dies, means movable toward and from one end of said gate rod for stripping the unit from said second named means and for feeding the unit out of the path of movement of said dies, and said last named means comprising a plunger rod and an air cylinder for actuating said rod in movement thereof into different positions in successive casting operations of the machine.

'7. In a die casting machine, means comprising a pair of relatively movable dies for forming a die cast unit including a rod like gate portion, stationary means for ejecting the unit from the dies in the separation thereof and for positioning the unit between the separated dies, means movable toward and from one end of said gate rod for stripping the unit from said second named means and for feeding the unit out of th path of movement of said dies, and yieldable jaws for engaging said unit and between which each unit is fed by said stripping and feeding means.

8. In a machine for simultaneously forming a plurality of independent die castings united in a gate portion, means comprising relatively movable dies forming an elongated gate rod as part of said gate portion and castings in defining a cast unit, said gate rod being spaced with respect to said castings in said unit, means cooperating with the gate rod for feeding said cast unit out of alinement with the dies when in open position, stationary means engaging said gate rod for ejecting the unit therefrom in movement of the dies into open position, and for supporting said unit preparatory to engagement of the second named means therewith.

9. In a machine for simultaneously forming a plurality of independent die castings united in a gate portion, means comprising relatively movable dies forming an elongated gate rod as part of said gate portion and castings in defining a cast unit, said gate rod being spaced with respect to said castings in said unit, means cooperating with the gate rod for feeding said cast unit out of alinement with the dies when in open position, stationary means engaging said gate rod for ejecting the unit therefrom in movement of the dies into open position, and for supporting said unit preparatory to engagement of the second named means therewith, and said stationary means comprising a pair of pins engaging opposed surfaces of the gate rod of said unit.

10. In a die casting machine, a pair of dies for forming successive cast units each including a gate portion of predetermined contour, a pair of yieldable grippers arranged adjacent said dies, means for feeding successive cast units between said grippers, and said grippers supporting each unit in predetermined position with respect to said dies and the next successive unit formed thereby.

11. In a die casting machine, a pair of dies for forming successive cast units each including a gate portion of predetermined contour, a pair of REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date I Veeder Apr. 29, 1902 Apple Jan. 3, 1922 Morin et a1 Dec. 16, 1941 Gits July 7, 1942 Marsh Sept, 28, 194

FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Number Great Britain Nov. 19, 1931 

